Good point. He's so much stronger than human that he could be built like Woody Allen and still be the strongest guy in the world. And really, how often would he be able to exert his muscles sufficiently to build them up in the first place?

Also, more generally, the modern trend in comics to base superhero physiques on bodybuilders rather than athletes is deeply unrealistic, since bodybuilder physique is exaggerated for display. People who actually need to use their muscles in a practical way aren't so overbuilt; in fact, they're often quite wiry.

No, he telepathically commands fish (and other aquatic fauna). Plus, his molecular structure is denser, so he's stronger and less vulnerable than normal people. And let's not forget he's actually a bonafide king. Wanna talk Batman?! He hasn't any powers. At. All. So, why would you put Batman on the Justice League but leave Aquaman out?

Plus, his molecular structure is denser, so he's stronger and less vulnerable than normal people.

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Right, absolutely. It would take amazing physical strength and durability to survive in the ocean depths the way Aquaman can, to swim as fast as he can, etc. Here's a cool article about just how Aquaman would have to endure:

Wanna talk Batman?! He hasn't any powers. At. All. So, why would you put Batman on the Justice League but leave Aquaman out?

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What are you talking about? Batman's power is helping a movie make lots of money!

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My point was, you don't leave Aquaman out because he "talks to fish". He's badass, maybe the most badass member of the Justice League (yes, I think he surpasses even Batman in that department), want proof, watch his appearances in the DC Animated Universe.

No, he telepathically commands fish (and other aquatic fauna). Plus, his molecular structure is denser, so he's stronger and less vulnerable than normal people. And let's not forget he's actually a bonafide king. Wanna talk Batman?! He hasn't any powers. At. All. So, why would you put Batman on the Justice League but leave Aquaman out?

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Point taken, but I thought Batman's intellect and detective abilities were something like superpowers, just because he's that far out on the bell curve. Plus, he has great martial arts skills, not to mention his disguises and equipment.

Point taken, but I thought Batman's intellect and detective abilities were something like superpowers, just because he's that far out on the bell curve. Plus, he has great martial arts skills, not to mention his disguises and equipment.

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Well, his intellect really shouldn't be anywhere near that of Superman (intellect is a combination of creativity, observation and speed - Superman has super-senses and super-speed, his alter ego is a writer, ergo he's pretty much the most intelligent being on earth) and his detective skills haven't even really been shown in the movies (but could be, I give you that), the martial arts and disguises are only effective in urban crime-fighting. Which leaves equipment. Let's just say he'll have to have very scifi equipment to be any use to Justice League during an alien invasion or something like that.

Point taken, but I thought Batman's intellect and detective abilities were something like superpowers, just because he's that far out on the bell curve. Plus, he has great martial arts skills, not to mention his disguises and equipment.

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Whoopdeedo. Next to Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, I'm sorry, martial arts mean nothing. All of them could kick his ass... The Flash before Batman was aware of it. Hell, most of them could just toss him into orbit.

Point taken, but I thought Batman's intellect and detective abilities were something like superpowers, just because he's that far out on the bell curve. Plus, he has great martial arts skills, not to mention his disguises and equipment.

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Whoopdeedo. Next to Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, I'm sorry, martial arts mean nothing. All of them could kick his ass... The Flash before Batman was aware of it. Hell, most of them could just toss him into orbit.

Unless, of course, he had a chance to prepare.

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This is why he keeps a flammable chunk of yellow kryptonite in his utility belt.

This is why he keeps a flammable chunk of yellow kryptonite in his utility belt.

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That still leaves Wonder Woman and Flash to take care of him.
As much as I like Batman, he is really useless as a member of the Justice League and the only reason he's there is because the character is and has always been popular.

Batman is the brains of the league.
Superman is smarter but was raised on a farm in Kansas and has had little exposure to thinking on a tacticle and strategic level.
Wonder Woman is a warrior and thinks like one first without reguard for the consequences.
Martian Manhunter is an alien and has a non human thought process.
Flash thinks faster but is at heart a scientist and examines everything through that lens.
Green Lantern is a fighter jock who takes risks.
Batman is the only one who has trained himself to think like a leader. An in depth planner and multi level thinker is needed for the league as much as power and speed.

I think having Batman on the team is valuable because it helps keep them grounded. If it were just a bunch of godlike, paternalistic superhumans protecting us weak mortals, they could become rather detached from us and run the risk of becoming benevolent dictators. Including a non-powered human among their ranks as an equal helps remind them of what it is they stand for and fight for, and lets them include a more everyday, street-level perspective in their thinking.

Granted, GL's basically an ordinary human with a fancy gadget too, but he's also a space cop and that can lead to a lack of that kind of everyday perspective. And sure, the other characters have their own everyday lives and people they relate to, but that's largely separate from their heroing lives, and having someone in their heroic community who holds and champions that more grounded perspective is valuable.

Superman has super-senses and super-speed, his alter ego is a writer, ergo he's pretty much the most intelligent being on earth)

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Bulls@#t, if he was that smart he wouldn't fall for the kryptonite thing every freaking time, he also would have taken Lex Luthor down by now. Seeing as he hasn't done either of those I call shenanigans on the whole super smarts thing.

This is why he keeps a flammable chunk of yellow kryptonite in his utility belt.

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That still leaves Wonder Woman and Flash to take care of him.
As much as I like Batman, he is really useless as a member of the Justice League and the only reason he's there is because the character is and has always been popular.

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Actually I though he was there to pull the JLA's asses out of the fire since thats mostly what he does.

Superman is smarter but was raised on a farm in Kansas and has had little exposure to thinking on a tacticle and strategic level.

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Actually, he's a classically educated journalist trained to view a situation from any number of perspectives.

Wonder Woman is a warrior and thinks like one first without reguard for the consequences.

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I hate how current DC gets that wrong. WW is a warrior, but she's more than that. She's not even a warrior first. She's a princess, an ambassador, someone who resorts to violence only when all other means failed, and her main weapon is not a sword (although you could get this idea from current DC), but a lasso, a non-lethal weapon. Anyone remember how big a thing it was when WW killed Maxwell Lord?! She did it because their was no real alternative (well, Superman and Batman later said there had to be, but I still don't see it, and I'm a pacifist). Before that, she didn't kill, and afterwards she still seldomly did. Only with the New 52 she's like "Look, monsters, let me cut their heads off".

Martian Manhunter is an alien and has a non human thought process.

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He's also the oldest member of the League (aside from WW, if you take her immortality into account) and has been on earth since the 1950s, with plenty of time to observe humans. Another fact most people tend to forget (especially DC editorial) is that J'onn is a detective. Yes, Batman isn't the only detective among the League.
Plus, we've seen J'onn taking up organizing duties for the League several times in the past, so he definitely has tactical experience.

Flash thinks faster but is at heart a scientist and examines everything through that lens.
Green Lantern is a fighter jock who takes risks.

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That's true, actually, but only for Barry Allen and Hal Jordan. John Stewart actually is an ex-marine and an architect, so he definitely knows about plans and battles.

Batman is the only one who has trained himself to think like a leader.

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First, WW is the Princess of Themyscira, she's probably been trained to be a leader and therefore think like a leader.

Second, Batman didn't train himself to be a leader, he trained himself to be a detective, scientist and martial artist. The leader thing only began when Dick Grayson came along, so he started out with a teenaged boy to 'lead'.

Also, you forgot about Aquaman, you know, the character this last couple of posts was all about. He is a king, an actual king, leading the armies of Atlantis (and the occasional whale) into battle. If he ain't a leader, who is?!

Superman has super-senses and super-speed, his alter ego is a writer, ergo he's pretty much the most intelligent being on earth)

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Bulls@#t, if he was that smart he wouldn't fall for the kryptonite thing every freaking time, he also would have taken Lex Luthor down by now. Seeing as he hasn't done either of those I call shenanigans on the whole super smarts thing.

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Ah, yes, Kryptonite, the embodiment of lazy writing. Of course, characters can only be as smart as their writers want them to be, so if a writer is to lazy to come up with a real threat, he has Superman being caught by Kryptonite, even if it really doesn't make any sense. Of course, there have been writers who were able to use Kryptonite in an original way, like Mark Waid in "Birthright", but there's a reason Denny O'Neil once had all Kryptonite on earth turn to harmless lead. It's a lazy excuse for a threat.

As for Lex Luthor, I guess you mean corporate Luthor (as Superman has taken down mad scientist Luthor basically each and every time they confronted each other). In this case, you have to take Superman's respect for the law into account. He can only bring Luthor down with hard evidence that would hold up in a court of law, so there's not much he can do. And even with the evidence, Luthor has enough highly-paid lawyers to keep him out of prison (also seen in Waid's "Birthright").

This is why he keeps a flammable chunk of yellow kryptonite in his utility belt.

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That still leaves Wonder Woman and Flash to take care of him.
As much as I like Batman, he is really useless as a member of the Justice League and the only reason he's there is because the character is and has always been popular.

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If there are stories where he's portrayed as useful, then your statement is untrue.